This was deleted from a 'discussion' that was on another FB page. I guess since I had a dissenting opinion they felt the need to delete my post. It's sad when we can't disagree. It's one reason our progress has moved so slowly.
"When I hear people say that don't want to be associated with 'those people', I can't help but hear a level of bigotry.
I understand where it comes from so I am not one to harshly judge those who express such sentiments. There are some creepy elements in the fetish segments. To me that would be like me not wanting to accept the term African American label because of the negative stereotypical members of my racial group.
It also ignores the fact that many well adjusted transsexual women, at one time, came into who they are through what they perceived as a fetish. Think of all of the girls (especially those who transition later in life) who have said over and over that they say things through the lens of a fetish.
What if Steve only dresses on the weekend? He could still very well be a transsexual. It comes down to what is in his mind. And what about the creepy fetish minded transsexual? What about those, like myself, who fall on the blurred less defined lines of these definitions?
I look at something like the Southern Comfort Conference, which is mostly attended by TVs. You would be hard pressed to be able to tell the difference between most of the attendees and a late transitioning TS. I think those lines are so blurry that they can not properly be defined. Especially without knowing the person (as an individual). I know of many many many on the pageant and ballroom scene that live in those gray area. Many who most would assume were fulltime and fully transitioned.
Sure, those transsexuals on the far end of the scope have close to nothing in common with those fetish minded crossdressers on the other end. I would suspect that a very large portion exist more in the middle. The size of the middle is too large to draw strict distinctions."
"When I hear people say that don't want to be associated with 'those people', I can't help but hear a level of bigotry.
I understand where it comes from so I am not one to harshly judge those who express such sentiments. There are some creepy elements in the fetish segments. To me that would be like me not wanting to accept the term African American label because of the negative stereotypical members of my racial group.
It also ignores the fact that many well adjusted transsexual women, at one time, came into who they are through what they perceived as a fetish. Think of all of the girls (especially those who transition later in life) who have said over and over that they say things through the lens of a fetish.
What if Steve only dresses on the weekend? He could still very well be a transsexual. It comes down to what is in his mind. And what about the creepy fetish minded transsexual? What about those, like myself, who fall on the blurred less defined lines of these definitions?
I look at something like the Southern Comfort Conference, which is mostly attended by TVs. You would be hard pressed to be able to tell the difference between most of the attendees and a late transitioning TS. I think those lines are so blurry that they can not properly be defined. Especially without knowing the person (as an individual). I know of many many many on the pageant and ballroom scene that live in those gray area. Many who most would assume were fulltime and fully transitioned.
Sure, those transsexuals on the far end of the scope have close to nothing in common with those fetish minded crossdressers on the other end. I would suspect that a very large portion exist more in the middle. The size of the middle is too large to draw strict distinctions."
